


When the storm hits

by Hey_there_destiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: But he's trying, Castiel (Supernatural) Has OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Castiel Needs a Hug, College AU, Dean Winchester Is A Good Boyfriend, Dean is confused, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, OCD, Protective Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 01:33:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19819804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hey_there_destiel/pseuds/Hey_there_destiel
Summary: "He did he business and immediately approached the sink, this bathroom was disgusting. He washed his hands thoroughly, possibly using a bit too much soap, before turning to the door and exiting the bathroom.Shit.He re entered the bathroom, and went to go wash his hands again. There was no telling what was on that door. How could he know how many people simply used the bathroom and left, without washing their hands? Cas almost gagged at the thought. So now here he was, with freshly washed hands, and a door in the way.Maybe he could just- Cas reached over to get a paper towel, and pulled the shredded remains of the last one. His luck had seriously gone sour. He desperately tried to pry open the door with the comically small paper towel, but failed miserably as his finger touched the knob again. He sighed in frustration and made his way back over to the sink."Or,Cas has a panic attack in the bathroom at a convenience store him and Dean stop at.





	When the storm hits

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty much unedited, so I'm sorry for any typos and such :/

"Yeah sure, we'll hit the road in a minute." Dean smiled warmly at him, and in that moment Cas could not have been more grateful to have the best boyfriend in all of New York. 

Cas smiled in return as he made his way toward the back of the shop and into the bathroom. He did he business and immediately approached the sink, this bathroom was disgusting. He washed his hands thoroughly, possibly using a bit too much soap, before turning to the door and exiting the bathroom.

Shit. 

He re entered the bathroom, and went to go wash his hands again. There was no telling what was on that door. How could he know how many people simply used the bathroom and left, without washing their hands? Cas almost gagged at the thought. So now here he was, with freshly washed hands, and a door in the way. 

Maybe he could just- Cas reached over to get a paper towel, and pulled the shredded remains of the last one. His luck had seriously gone sour. He desperately tried to pry open the door with the comically small paper towel, but failed miserably as his finger touched the knob again. He sighed in frustration and made his way back over to the sink. 

•••  
Dean tapped his foot impatiently, he loved his boyfriend to death but long could it possible take the man to piss? Dean tried not to grow worried, I mean this was a pretty shady convenience store, it wouldn't be that hard for someone to- NO. Dean wouldn't think about it. Cas was perfectly fine, he was sure of it. He was a grown man. Still, Dean couldn't help buy worry. 

"Fuck it." Dean mumbled after 10 minutes of waiting for Cas to exit the store. He walked in, hoping to see Cas distracted by a magazine about bees toward the front, but he had no such luck. "Dammit Cas." Dean sighed as he approached the woman at the register. She looked to be in her mid forties, short brown hair, pulled back into a somewhat ponytail. She seemed nice enough. 

"Hi ma'am I'm sorry, have you seen a man, about 20 years old in here? Did he leave?" Dean asked, trying not to let too much concern seep into his voice. 

"No honey, I'm sorry, I saw him a while back but I don't think he left. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's still in that bathroom." The woman shrugged. She had a thick southern accent, that made her a bit difficult to understand. Dean thanked her quickly, and rushed to bathroom to find his boyfriend, hoping for the best. 

•••  
"Cas, angel, you in here?" Dean called, cautiously walking into the bathroom. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his boyfriend. 

Castiel was sitting on the counter where the sinks were, his head in his hands as he clutched a tiny paper towel tightly. Dean quickly rushed over to the other man. "Hey it's ok. It's OK I'm here. Cas? What's going on?" Dean grabbed Cas's shoulders, causing the slightly shorter man to flinch. 

"I can't- I can't do it." Cas mumbled weakly, this was nothing like how his boyfriend had described his panic attacks before. He wasn't hyperventilating, or rocking back and forth, he didn't look like he might pass out and/or throw up. He just looked... Pitiful, if Dean was being honest. 

"Can't do what sweetheart?" Dean was utterly confused, he had never seen Cas like this before. He would be lying if he said he wasn't just a bit scared. 

Castiel gestured to the door, glaring at it as if it were personally offending him. The door? Well how had he gotten in? Dean thought to himself. Though he guessed that wasn't really important now. 

"Cas is it ok if I pick you up?" Dean asked, looking down as Cas shook his head. He watched as Cas eventually stood up, if a bit shaky, and made his way over to the door. Dean quickly hurried to open the door for him, it was easy. How could a door have made his lover so upset? Castiel practically ran out of the bathroom, through the store, and into the passengers seat of the Impala.

Dean was confused to say the least, but he figured he would give Cas some time to cool off. As Dean was heading out, he noticed some honey flavored sweets on an aisle. He picked those up, along with a few other comforting items, and made some tea at the little coffee machine. Setting his purchases down on the counter, he couldn't help but catch the concerned gaze of the woman. 

"Is he going to be alright?" She asked, looking toward the car where Cas was huddled up in a blanket. "God I hope so." Dean sighed, also looking his direction. 

Dean paid the lady and approached the car with his items, holding them up for Cas to see. He was relieved to see his boyfriends face instantly light up. 

•••  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Dean asked, about two hours later. They still had a long way to go before they made it to their motel, so he figured now was as good a time as any. 

"I guess..?" Castiel sighed, pulling his blanket tighter around him. He was thoroughly embarrassed to say the least, he had never had a panic attack in front of Dean. Much less... whatever that was. 

"We don't have to yet if you're not ready," Dean assured him. "I just want to know what happened." 

"No it's ok. I.. I'm ready." Cas nodded to himself, taking a deep breath. "So you remember how I told you a while ago that I have OCD? Or anxiety or whatever." Cas never really could tell the difference. Though his therapist had told him multiple times. 

"Basically, I guess everyone has a net. And sometimes certain thoughts go through that net, such as, "Hm, what if I dropped my cup and my smoothie went everywhere?" well most people, those thoughts just go right on through their net. But for me, I guess my net is clogged. Instead of saying "Oh I won't drop my smoothie. It'll be ok." I seriously can't get the thought out of my head. And my brain basically thinks up almost every possible scenario of what would happen if I dropped my smoothie." Cas sighed. This is how his therapist had explained it, and it had made sense to him. He hoped Dean understood as well. 

"But why? Can't you just like, block the thought out or whatever? Like what could seriously happen from a dropped smoothie? It’s not that big of a deal.” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Well I mean, the smoothie is just an example, Dean. But if I dropped a smoothie inside a fancy museum or something, that would be horrible! I could get kicked out, or banned, or people would laugh. It could potentially be very bad." Cas ranted, his breathing noticeably getting faster. 

"And I know it's all Hypothetical. A what if situation. But Dean, I'll be damned if I don't keep myself up some nights worrying about a smoothie I don't even have. Or- or worse. Like what if-" 

"Woah woah, Cas. Calm down, Angel. It's ok. There's no smoothie. Just a door. And I want to know what happened in there. With the door." Dean gently took Cas's hand, rubbing circles soothingly into his palm. 

"Right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. When I tried to open the door, I-I thought about all the people who I didn't know touching that doorknob. People who p-possibly hadn't washed their hands before opening the door. And then there weren't a-any more paper towels, and then I tried to open it with my elbow but that d-didn't exactly work out the way I hoped and-" Cas's breath hitched once again. God damn it Castiel! Pull yourself together! 

"Hey hey, calm down. It's ok. Deep breaths, remember? I'm here. The doors long gone. It's just me, and-" Dean rummaged around in the glovebox for a seconds before pulling something out. "Hand sanitizer!" he said a bit over enthusiastically. 

"Please don't speak to me as if I were a toddler." Cas glared. He wasn't a child, and he'd be damned if he let Dean talk to him like one. 

"Right sorry." Dean squirted a bit onto both his and Cas's hands. "See? All good. Ninety nine point nine percent of germs, all gone." he smiled Tightly before raising cas's hand to his lips, and giving it a gentle kiss. 

"Cmon. Motels up ahead. I hear there's a Doctor Sexy marathon on channel 56 tonight."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! This is somewhat based on a true story, my OCD may not be the same as someone else's, but if there is anything you think I could improve feel free to tell me :)


End file.
